


Falling is Like This

by mickeylovesian



Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-02
Updated: 2014-08-02
Packaged: 2018-02-11 12:28:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2068197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mickeylovesian/pseuds/mickeylovesian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For A.U.gust on tumblr. Day 1</p>
            </blockquote>





	Falling is Like This

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Mickey said as he pulled up behind the bar to find his spot taken. Parking was for employees only and he knew that Kelsey drove the gay ass Fiat but he didn’t know who the pick up belonged to. He backed out of the parking lot to go find parking on the street. “Fucking asshole better give me money for the God damn meters.”

It took him ten minutes to find a spot and by the time he walked into the bar he was soaked from the rain pouring outside.

“You’re late,” Kelsey said, barely looking up from the shots of Tequila she was pouring for the three girls who were obviously underage. “You’re shift starts at 8 Mickey, how many times do I have to tell you.”

“Get off my ass Kels. I was on time but some asshole was in my spot and it took me like an hour to find a space on the street in this weather. Plus it’s only 8:05,” Mickey said ducking under the bar.

“Yeah well, we have a singer starting at 8:30 and the place is already packed.”

“So you made five extra minutes worth of tips all to yourself,” Mickey said walking up to a customer who was sitting at the end of the bar with an empty beer glass in front of him. “What can I get you?”

“Dogfish,” the guy said, looking Mickey right in the eye. Customers hardly ever did that; usually they treated him like he was a servant on hand whenever they needed him. He couldn’t help but notice his eyes, which he couldn’t decide if they were green or blue in the light. Either way, they complemented his red hair. It was a nice red—not like that God awful red that Mandy had dyed her hair for three weeks in high school before getting tired of it. 

Just as the thought crossed his mind he realized how weird it was that he was just staring at the guy so quickly turned around and went and got the beer. He recognized how rare it was that he noticed this random guys eyes; sometimes he forgot what color his own were and tried to push the thought from his head. He could feel his face turning red, so he waited a moment before going back and putting it down in front of him. 

“You got a tab running?” he asked.

“Yeah, under Gallagher,” the guy said. “I couldn’t help but overhear that your spot was taken. Sorry about that.”

“You’re the asshole?”

“Guilty,” he said with a smile. Mickey’s heart thumped in his chest; that’s a stupid fucking smile, he thought, lying to himself. “But Kelsey said I could park there to unload my shit. I’m playing tonight.”

“I had to pay three bucks to park on the street,” Mickey said gruffly. He wanted to be annoyed; usually he would have given a customer a little more shit than that, but for some reason he just couldn’t find the will. Maybe it’s the eyes, the thought, before quickly telling himself to shut the fuck up. 

“Add it to my tab,” he said; this time, Mickey smiled back. “I’m Ian.”

“Mickey,” he said taking his outstretched hand. “So how did Kelsey find you?”

“Oh, uh, I used to date her brother,” Ian said shifting his eyes to Mickey’s knuckle tattoos. Mickey ignored that; he was used to people thinking he was still the fag-bashing thug he had been as a teen. 

“That fucking prick?” Mickey said raising his eyebrows. He had met Kelsey’s brother, Dane, a few times; hell he’d even fucked him one drunken night, not that he would ever admit that mistake, especially to his ex-boyfriend. 

“Yeah,” Ian said with a little grin. “It didn’t end well. But Kelsey still got me this weekly gig so I can’t complain.”

“What kind of music you play?”

“A mix of things. I mostly play some covers with a few of my own songs mixed in. I just started a few months ago so I’m just trying to get a following,” Ian said. Mickey looked around; the place was pretty packed, which was unusually for a Tuesday night.

“Looks like you’re doing pretty good so far,” He said, acknowledging the crowd. It was mostly college age girls, all staring wistfully at Ian, probably building the strength to walk up to him and talk.

“Yeah, not too bad. Mostly a bunch of girls who will be disappointed when they learn I’d rather talk to their boyfriends than them.” Mickey laughed. Being a bartender at a bar, one that was notorious for barely checking IDs, had led to Mickey being hit on by wasted sorority girls looking for danger more times than he could count. But, it had also led to some pretty fun last call encounters with closeted frat guys. 

“So you from the area?” 

“Yeah I grew up here but I j just moved back a few months ago.”

“Where were you?”

“Just got out of the Army.”

“No shit?” Who the fuck was this guy? A gay, army vet, guitar playing redhead—Mickey was intrigued, and it definitely had nothing to do with his eyes or anything like that. 

“Mickey, are you going to fucking work or flirt all night?” Kelsey hissed in his ear before brushing past him.

“Duty calls,” Mickey said.

“Yeah, I should go set up,” Ian said, downing his beer. Mickey smiled; he liked a guy who knew how to drink.

“Break a leg or whatever,” Mickey said.

“Thanks,” Ian said, as he hopped up on the makeshift stage. The girls in the audience started clapping and yelling; Ian caught his eye and winked; Mickey smiled in response.

“He’s cute right?” Kelsey said coming up behind him.

“What?”

“Oh stop. Dane told me you guys fucked. Plus I’m not blind,” she said. Mickey barely had time to react to the fact that not only did she know he was gay but that he fucked her brother before she added, “get to work.”

Fifteen minutes later, Mickey was already bored of his other customers. Mandy always made fun of him; “What kind of misanthrope (she had learned that word by watching Dazed and Confused and loved using it like she was smarter than him) becomes a bartender. Conversations with drunk people is in the job description!” Usually he talked just enough to ensure that he would get some good tips, or added his two cents to a drunk argument here or there, but as he put down a Long Island in front of the wasted college girl he wished Ian was still at the bar instead of up on the stage fiddling with his guitar. 

What the fuck? He didn’t even know this guy. He could be a huge fucking asshole who did covers of Taylor Swift or some really gay shit like that. Mickey wasn’t really big on relationships and he didn’t do dates. The closest he had ever gotten was that one guy, Eddie or something, who he had continued to fuck for almost two months straight and sometimes went out for a beer with first. But as Ian started playing, and the girls went wild, Mickey thought about how nice it would be nice to sit down and get to know him better. He shuddered and turned away from the stage, trying and failing to tune out the music. 

He was kind of a mix between the jam bands Mickey and his brother’s used to see during the summer so that could sell overpriced acid to rich kids and the indie shit he heard on the radio. It wasn’t particularly his style, but as he watched Ian on stage, he realized that it was something he could learn to like. His own songs were just as good as the covers, and Mickey found himself moving his head in time with the music. 

He tried to not watch him on stage, the lights reflecting in his red hair, giving his face this certain glow that Mickey was drawn to. He served his customers and tried to avoid looking at Kelsey who kept staring at him with narrow eyes, as if she knew what he was thinking.

“What’s his deal?” Mickey finally asked Kelsey halfway through the first set. 

“He’s really nice. In my opinion Dane fucked up big time when he let him go, but he could also do way better than my asshole brother,” she said with a smile. 

“How long were they together?” Mickey hated himself for asking. Just by her face he could tell Kelsey had some ulterior motives for giving Ian the gig and he didn’t want to fall into her trap.

“A few months.”

“What happened?”

“Nosey aren’t you?” She said with a laugh. “What always happens with Dane’s relationships? He got bored, cheated and got caught.”

“Oh,” Mickey said. 

“Well, I think you would like him. I don’t think I’ve seen you smile this much in one night since the night that guy pissed himself.”

“Hey Kelsey?”

“Yeah?”

“Fuck off.”

“Alright, I’m just going to take a fifteen minute break and then I’ll be back for another set. Don’t go anywhere!” Ian said over the cheering girls. He stepped down and was immediately swarmed. Mickey watched as he smiled and talked and noticed how they kept catching eye contact. 

“Here, looks like you could use a beer,” Mickey said, putting one down in front of him as soon as he reached the bar. 

“Thanks man,” he said. “You wouldn’t happen to have a cigarette would you?”

“Yeah,” Mickey said. “I’ll come with you.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, Kelsey can handle it,” Mickey said. He nodded for Ian to duck under the bar and follow him out through the kitchen to the back where there would be less people. 

“You’re pretty good,” Mickey said, handing him a cigarette. He flicked open his lighter, lit his own and held it out for Ian to lean in. They caught eye contact; Mickey found himself staring a bit longer than necessary but he still couldn’t tell what color they were. He spit and said, “The girls love you.”

“Story of my life,” he said with a grin. 

“I think Kelsey wants to hook us up,” Mickey said, taking a long drag of his cigarette. What was wrong with him? He was never this open, not before 2 am and not without a couple shots and half a dozen beers keeping him warm. Ian coughed.

“You-you’re-what?”

“She keeps talking you up,” Mickey said, laughing a bit at Ian’s reaction. “Guess I’m not as subtle as I thought.”

“Oh uh, well,” Ian hesitated a bit and before he could respond a girl, Mickey recognized as a regular, rounded the corner.

“I loved that last song! Can I buy you a beer?” She was pretty, with long brown hair and really green eyes that Mickey didn’t believe were natural. If Ian had been into girls he would have been one extremely lucky dude. Ian looked at Mickey who shrugged and smiled.

“I never turn down a free drink,” Ian said, smiling more at Mickey than at the girl before going back inside. Mickey laughed and stubbed out his cigarette.

The second set went just as well as the first and when it was over, girls, asking for his autograph and buying his demo CD, once again surrounded Ian. By the time the madness died down it was already 11:30. Mickey was busy with other customers when Ian made his way to the bar.

“What do I owe you?”

“Entertainment drinks for free,” Mickey found himself saying. It wasn’t true, which meant that he was going to have to put most of the tips he made that night to cover the tab. Fuck it.

“Oh, well, at least let me pay for your meter.”

“Don’t worry about it. Wasn’t really three bucks,” he said. They were silent for a moment. 

“I should get going. I have to go to my real job in the morning,” Ian said. “But I’ll see you next week?”

“I’ll be here.”

“Good,” Ian said with a wink. 

He didn’t know what made him do it; maybe it was because he had already outted himself, or maybe it was because he really wanted to figure out what color eyes he had. Either way, just as Ian was about to turn away he said, “Unless, you want to do something on Thursday? It’s my night off.”

“I’m playing at another bar downtown,” Ian said. Mickey could tell that he was just as disappointed as he was. “You could come if you wanted. It’s always nice to see a good-looking face in the audience. And then you could save me from all the crazy college girls.”

“Ok,” Mickey said. A smile was playing on his lips; he had called him ‘good-looking’. He wrote down his number on a scrap of paper.

“We could get dinner before hand or something.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Mickey said. “See you on Thursday.”

“Looking forward to it,” Ian said, giving him one of those grins Mickey had already begun to fall for.


End file.
